Horse racing: Trainer happy and confused ahead of Ruakākā’s biggest raceday

Ruakaka trainer Kenny Rae (left).

Local trainer Kenny Rae goes into Ruakākā’s biggest raceday of the season tomorrow happy but slightly confused.

Rae and training partner Krystal Williams are set to be factors in many of the five $60,000 ITM/GIB Winter Championship Finals which will see $345,000 paid out in the Far North in what is one of the new highlights of New Zealand’s winter racing.

The stable dominate the market for the juvenile race with Whiskey Lies the $1.90 favourite ahead of stablemate Dancing Dream at $2.20 and Rae admits this is where his confusion kicks in.

“On their track work on Wednesday there is no way he [Whiskey Lies] can beat her,” he told the Herald.

“She thrashed him, I reckon she beat him by five lengths in their gallop.”

But before you start logging into your TAB account to unload on Dancing Dream, Rae puts that trackwork in perspective.

“Actually she always does, she is just way better than him in trackwork and you would swear she is the better horse. But he just seems to lift on raceday. If I was tipping one it would be her but then again, I would have tipped her the last two times they have met too and he has won both.

“So it has got me stuffed. Maybe he is just a better racehorse.”

If the gap between the pair is so small then weight could be a factor tomorrow as Whiskey Lies carries 58kgs while Dancing Dream will have the luxury of just 52kgs on her back with Kelsey Hannan claiming 2kgs.

It isn’t just in the 2-year-old race that the Rae/Williams have two serious winning chances, with Heart Of Alladin (R7, No. 2) and Mischief Managed (6) in the 3-year-old final, albeit one of the strongest fields of the day.

Mischief Managed was third in Pennyweka’s NZ Oaks win four starts ago, which sounds like remarkable form for this but she has been well beaten in her last two starts while Heart Of Alladin has finally matured.

“He used to be so weak, he was like 16.2 hands but about one hand wide,” laughs Rae.

“But he is getting there and his last start third was massive after he was caught wide so I think he can win.”

Follow Your Dreams and Vegas Strip both get claiming apprentices in the R86 over 1400 metres as Rae tries to spark them up in the race of the day.

“They aren’t going too bad and working well but they might need the weight off their backs in that race.”

There is plenty of depth right through that last race as it provides a good example of what the Winter Championships is trying to achieve.

Rae suggests punters start the day supporting the stable’s maiden Kereopa (R1, No. 1) in a race he wasn’t supposed to be in.

“He was actually heading to Avondale for a race but they added this one in and it looks perfect for him.

“He gets to race at home rather than travel, which is always a big help for our horses being from up here, and it looks a pretty weak field.

“So really he should win that.”